Webwatch

Authors: António A Martins Teresa M Mata

Publish Date: 2012/04/28

Volume: 14, Issue: 3, Pages: 377-379

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Abstract

EAWAG is the German acronym for the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology It was founded in 1936 and in 1998 it became a research and development institute part of the Swiss Research System within the umbrella of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology ETH Currently it is divided in two main locations and has around 400 people as active researchers employedFrom its initial goal of performing research in waste water treatment EAWAG activities have broaden and now include all types of aquatic systems urban water systems wastewater treatment effects of chemical compounds on the environment methodologies to reduce their impact among others Presently EAWAG is divided in twelve departments in areas that range from the fundamental sciences for example “Aquatic Ecology” and “Environmental Chemistry” to more applied and engineering focused areas such as “Process Engineering” and “Urban Water Management” This ensures that all areas of activity relevant to aquatic systems and related activities are taken into account allowing for a wide range of research topics and increasing the potential for inter and/or transdisciplinary research which is actively promoted EAWAG also has some education consulting and knowledge transfer activities to increase the institute visibility and allow the practical implementation of its activity resultsThus the EAWAG site serves many purposes From an institutional perspective it gives a description of the current background and history of the institute what are its goals and funding location and contact information This and other information can be found in the “About us” tab in the top bar presented in all site webpages In the “Research” section more information can be found on the various EAWAG departments current research focus and initiatives Links for each area are presented for those interested in knowing more of specific areas There is also possible to access the publications and reports area where many of the EAWAG research results are presented some of them freely accessible These publications are hosted in an exterior website where a dedicated search engine can be used Other sections deal with educational and vocational training as well as consulting and knowledge transferWhile the site does a good job on presenting the activities of the research institute its organization is somewhat confuse and moving through the different parts of the site may be complicated as the formatting is not uniform Also finding relevant information may be difficult although a search facility exists at the site Many links point to exterior sites further complicating the site usage Albeit the problems pointed out the site has a lot of information relevant to people working in the various aspects of aquatic systems as for example water treatment and supply ecology among othersThe UN Global Compact also known as Compact or UNGC is a United Nations initiative first announced at the World Economic Forum on January 31 1999 by secretary general Kofi Anan and officially created the next year Currently this initiative is supported by six UN agencies in particular those directly involved in development and environmental and social issues such as the United Nation High Commissioner for Human Rights and the International Labour Organization ILO Currently the UNGC is the largest world initiative in the area of corporate sustainability worldwide with currently almost 10000 participants from over 130 countriesThe main aim of this initiative is to promote and persuade business on a global scale to adopt practices that take into account sustainability and their social responsibilities develop and implement policies and strategies with those principles in mind and to report on the results of their implementation to all relevant stakeholders That way business will be able to show the markets and other stakeholders their commitment and even benefits from new business opportunities

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